Social media could deal your brand a blow
On one dull Sunday afternoon, I logged onto Facebook and visited the timelines of some of my Facebook friends.
I found all kinds of posts. Some about having a great time, that had pictures too. One posted a series of a selfies of herself in a bikini lying on sand.
Another friend had posted pictures of her engaging in PDA (Public Display of Affection) with her boyfriend and captioned it, “I love this man to death.”
And, I just went, “oh really, does she?” I recalled a time this same girl had previously posted something about the man not treating her right. She had branded him a serial cheat. The guy called her lazy, immature and irresponsible.
Suddenly, she was posting lovey dovey pictures of them, holding hands, hugging and locking lips. As I was going through the comments, I stumbled upon one that read, “Have you two stopped fighting and are now back on?”
The whole thing left me speechless. I wondered, “What happened to keeping some things about our lives away from social media?”
I was perturbed by yet another post on another friend’s post.
The man posted a complaint about his boss. He described him as exploitative, manipulative and discriminative.
Someone begged him to delete the post out of fear that his boss might come across it and take action. The man became indifferent and went on ranting.
The last time I saw the post, it had over 100 comments. One of them was his saying he had resigned from the job as he could not entertain his boss’ behaviour anymore.
The posts that tarnish your brand
“If you post something that also makes you uncomfortable or think twice, it has the potential of tarnishing your personal brand,” says Michael Niyitegeka, an Information and Communications Technology consultant.
Niyitegeka adds that in case your media profile is a public profile, be extra careful with the kind of information you decide to put out.
“This is because whatever you post can be accessed by members of the public and anything you think the public will not relate with you should not be posted,” he explains.
Social media character can cost you a job
It has been discovered recently that some employers take time to find out about their workers’ social media profiles.
If they came across any posts or pictures they believe will damage the reputation of their company, they do not risk hiring you.
Janat Zawedde is one of such people whose media posts made her lose a job opportunity in one of the corporate firms in town. The 28-year-old is accustomed to posting pictures of herself in a nightclub having fun with friends either dancing or drinking.
“I found three female panelists on the day of the oral interview. One pulled out her phone and showed me a picture I once posted on my Facebook page lighting a cigarette and asked if I was the one?” Zawedde says, adding, “I timidly answered yes and she placed the phone back in the bag.”
The mother of one says the incident was very embarrassing as she wanted the world to swallow her after seeing the picture. Two weeks later, she learnt that someone else had been hired for the position.
Moses Ssesanga, the human resource manager, Monitor Publications, says social media defines who the person is and how they want to be perceived. What someone writes or posts is a reflection of who they are.
“You will not join a corporate company with that baggage that you have been posting either with irresponsible or irrational comments. Surely, a responsible company will not take you on,” Ssesanga states. He advises that if one wants their brand to be good, then, they should protect it by making responsible posts.
The cost of leaking nude photos online
“There is also the recent trend of nude photos of women constantly leaking online which has ended up tarnishing the reputation and careers of many victims. An example is Anita Kyalimpa commonly known as Fabiola whose nude pictures cost her an NTV job as the host of Be My Date.
Section 13 of the Anti-pornography Act states that it is illegal for a person to produce, traffic, publish any form of pornography and on conviction, the accused is liable to a fine of Shs10m or imprisonment not exceeding 10 years.”
How it affects relationships
Couples break up for all sorts of reasons. For Jackie, (She preferred to use one name), her boyfriend’s flirtatious ways on Facebook were intolerable.
“Unlike me, he used to compliment other girls. He would call them beautiful and sexy,” she says, adding, “On several occasions, I brought up the issue explaining that the comments made me a little uncomfortable, he brushed the matter aside and pressed on.”
After failing to contain her jealousy, she called off the relationship. Meanwhile for businessman, John Kaita Nyanzi, he ended his relationship because of the provocative pictures she often posted.
“She liked uploading mostly photographs of herself skimpily dressed and you would find that it is mostly the men liking them including her ex-boyfriends,” Nyanzi says.
On several occasions he asked her to stop as the actions hurt him.
“She did not stop, so I opted out last year,” he says.
Jean Kyomugisha Nuwagaba, a counselling psychologist at Care Counseling Centre says the most important thing is for individuals to be themselves.
“There is no need to live a duo character. Be yourself. If you are the type of man who is honest, decent and respectful of others, let that also show in the things you put on social media as well,” Nuwagaba says, adding, “Do not try and be someone else just because you either want to show off to others or send the message that you are doing well.”
Nuwagaba further explains that individuals who always try so hard to be who they are not end up only hurting themselves or those closest to them. Otherwise, she says that couples ought to put the feelings of their partners into consideration whenever they are posting either a comment or picture on any of the social media platforms.
Social media and the law
Individuals ought to be even more vigilant than ever as police has started cracking down on individuals suspected of involving in social media crime.
This was after President Museveni came out twice to warn users of different social media platforms to stop inciting hatred and tribalism following an audio exchange on WhatsApp social media platform of two ethnic communities calling each other names.
About two weeks back, Robert Shaka, a social media critic of president Museveni was arrested and charged for posting offensive material against the state.
It was alleged that between 2011 and 2015, Shaka used a computer with no purpose of legitimate communication to disturb the right and privacy of the president by posting statements regarding his health on Facebook.
Marketing and positive branding
Patricia Kahill, a freelance social media consultant, content creator and marketer at Kahill Insights explains that someone can brand themselves on social media depending on the reason they are on social media in the first place.
“Some people are online because they want to create some fun while others are there to work.
The way someone chooses to portray themselves online becomes their brand,” she says, adding “social media is a wide platform that one can use for marketing themselves or businesses in all sorts of ways.
For Andrew Onapito, the communication manager at Hope Alive, social media is a platform to post things that reflect in what he believes in mostly inspirational quotes. One thing he ensures though to do from time to time is maintain the security settings as well.
“It is in order to control what other people post on my wall, “he says.
And when he has strong convictions on trending issues, Onapito posts his opinion after thinking about it.
Just like Onapito, there are other individuals using social media for different reasons. One thing people should not forget however is that your social media character has the capacity to either make or break them. Always have that at the back of your mind.
Bottom line, decide how you intend to use social media and to whom you will allow access (especially on Facebook). You don’t necessarily need to completely sanitise all your social media profiles – because companies want to hire real people (and some companies specifically look for creativity and personality).
However, if you want to ensure a potential employer never rejects you, make sure your online social profile depicts the type of employee a company would want to hire.
